


I Need You to Be Alright

by myglassesaredirty



Series: It Had to be You [5]
Category: Psych
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Domestic, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Ex-Boyfriends, F/M, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Kidnapping, Nightmares, Protectiveness, Unplanned Pregnancy, all 5.7k words were written tOday, henry is such a protective husband, listen i have 800 responsibilities and i paid attention to nOne of them, literally i came up with this last night and it just. wouldn't leave me alone, soft henry warm henry little ball of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-07
Updated: 2019-01-07
Packaged: 2019-10-05 22:22:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17333468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myglassesaredirty/pseuds/myglassesaredirty
Summary: She broke up with Clint Everdale years ago because, frankly put, he was a terrible boyfriend. He found her again, even though she's married and expecting a child.She just hopes Henry can find her in time.





	I Need You to Be Alright

**Author's Note:**

> Take care of yourselves, guys. If any of this triggers you, don't read.
> 
> PS: the working title of this fic – that I wrote on my school computer – was "I Swear I'm Not Pregnant, This Couple in This Story is and I Just Want to be Accurate Don't Call My Parents" because of the first part.

A wave of nausea sweeps over her, and Maddy stops in the middle of the hallway, pressing a hand to her stomach. She closes her eyes and whispers, “Please go away, please go away,” in hopes that the nausea will pass. When it doesn’t, she shoves her way through the crowd of students and bolts into the bathroom, banging open the stall door and kneeling before the toilet.

 

Is it unsanitary? Hell yes. Does she care right now, as her breakfast comes out the same way it went in? Hell no.

 

Maddy didn’t notice any other girls in the restroom when she first barged in, but then again, she was far more focused on making it to a stall in time. Someone pulls back her hair and gently smoothes it down.

 

“Food poisoning?”

 

Maddy shakes her head and retches straight into the toilet. The feeling burns her throat. “N-no,” she gasps out, swallowing past the next wave of vomit. “This- this has been going on for about a week.”

 

The girl behind her purses her lips and kneels on the bathroom floor before she starts braiding Maddy’s hair. “I hate to say it, but you might be pregnant.”

 

Maddy’s hand freezes on the way to flush the toilet as she processes the word. “Pregnant?” she echoes absently.  _ We’ve been trying to get pregnant for so long, _ she thinks.

 

The girl nods, ties Maddy’s braid, and stands up again. “Yeah. Here, I have some pregnancy tests in my purse. Just wait a minute.”

 

Maddy breathes heavily, blinking fiercely, as if that will control her urge to puke even more. The girl returns and passes Maddy a pregnancy test. “There are instructions on the box.”

 

Maddy takes it with a shaking hand. “Thanks,” she croaks, too drained to even smile at the girl.

 

The girl smiles at her and catches Maddy’s wedding ring. “Oh,” she says, breathing out a sigh of relief. “You’re married.”

 

Maddy furrows her brow and glances at her ring. “Y-yeah,” she says hoarsely. She needs a drink of water. “My husband and I have been trying to have kids for a while now.”

 

The girl grins brightly at her. “That’s good! I wish you luck!”

 

Maddy gives her a thumbs-up and pulls herself up.

 

The girl waves at her and leaves the stall, closing the door behind her. Maddy locks the stall door and examines the box with trembling hands.

 

_ Pregnant. _

 

She looks up at the ceiling, where the light hums and flickers. “Please, please, God,” she whispers, tearing open the box, “let it be so.” She closes her eyes. “Let me carry this pregnancy to term.”

 

Despite having been pregnant before, she’s never actually used a home pregnancy test. Maddy reads the instructions, reads them again, and reads them a third time before she’s convinced that she knows what to do. Surely, she’s late for her next class, but this is far more important than political science. Really, most things are.

 

The instructions on the box said to wait 3-5 minutes for the results to show, so Maddy flushes the toilet again, walks out of the stall, and gently sets the pregnancy test on the sink, begging time to move faster. A fly buzzes around her head, and Maddy swats at it. Her ears thrum with the sound of rushing blood, and she braces her hands against the sink and examines herself in the mirror.

 

She knows the symptoms of pregnancy. She’s experienced all of them before, and she’s experienced them again for the past few weeks. Maybe, somewhere deep down, she was dreading the answer. Not because she doesn’t want children, but because she’s so terrified of another miscarriage.

 

Maddy glances at her watch. It’s been three minutes, but she puffs out her cheeks and blows out a breath of hot air. She’ll wait one more, just to be sure. She’s not even going to  _ look _ at the stick until at least four minutes have passed.

 

The bathroom door swings open again, and a young freshman looks at her strangely before carefully stepping into the first stall. Maddy blocks out all noise and stares at her watch, willing it to tick faster.

 

Four minutes.

 

Maddy glances at the pregnancy test and gasps. She reaches for the test with a trembling hand and covers her mouth with the other.

 

A little pink plus sign stares at her.

 

The freshman girl nudges her with her shoulder, and Maddy shakes her head, bringing herself back to the present. The freshman points at the stick. “Is that good or bad?”

 

Maddy grins. “It’s good,” she laughs, tears filling her eyes. “It’s really, really good.”

 

The freshman smiles at her. “Well, congratulations.” She shakes the water from her hands, grabs two paper towels, and dries off her hands before leaving the bathroom.

 

Maddy stares at the pregnancy test for a moment longer, finally deciding that she should just go home and show Henry. She grabs the box the original test came from, puts the positive pregnancy test in it, and places the box in her purse. She  _ could _ go to poli sci class and ignore everything her professor says in favor of trying to figure out a cute way to tell Henry, but why would she do that when she could just go home, make Henry’s favorite dinner, and tell him then?

 

She pulls open the bathroom door and starts walking back to the entrance. She sees a shadow by one of the columns but ignores it, assuming that it’s just a student who has a free period.

 

A man steps in her path, and Maddy breathes in sharply, taking a few steps backward. “Clint,” she says, her eyes wide.

 

Henry. Where’s Henry?

 

Clint smiles greedily at her, and his sharp eyes travel over her body, lingering too long on her chest. Maddy pulls her cardigan as tightly as she can around herself and looks down. Clint reaches out and strokes her bicep. “How’ve ya been, Madeleine?”

 

Maddy grits her teeth. “What are you doing here, Clint?”

 

He moves to kiss her, and Maddy slaps him. Clint laughs, gingerly touches his cheek, and brushes Maddy’s cheek. “I wanted to see you.”

 

Maddy glances around her and shuffles backward. “We broke up  _ years _ ago, Clint. Please, just– just stay away from me.”

 

Clint laughs and follows her. “Come now, Madeleine. I can show you a good time.”

 

Maddy’s back presses against a wall, and she winces internally. There’s nowhere for her to go, and she  _ wishes _ that she’d let Henry buy her a cell phone or a pager or  _ something _ because she has no way of contacting him now. “I’m married now. Please go.”

 

Clint presses his hand against the wall and leans into Maddy’s space. “Oh, really?” he drawls, dipping his head so that he can kiss Maddy’s neck. She closes her eyes and flinches away from him, but he shifts, pinning her against the wall with his body. “What’s he like?”

 

Maddy’s heart hammers, and she whimpers. “He’s a police officer.”

 

Clint drags his tongue across Maddy’s collarbone. “So, in short, he’s not here?”

 

Maddy clamps her mouth shut and shudders at the feeling of his tongue against her skin.

 

Clint laughs and nips at her neck. “He’ll never know.”

 

For a moment, Maddy forgets about her fear and presses her hands to Clint’s shoulders and forces him away. “No! I don’t want you!”

 

Clint raises his eyebrows in surprise and stumbles backwards. “Really?”

 

Maddy runs a shaking hand through her hair, easily ruining her braid. “My relationship with you was easily the most abusive and repulsive one of my entire life. I don’t want to see you again. Ever. Now leave me alone!” She dodges him and runs for the door.

 

He catches up to her easily, grabs her around the waist, and claps his hand over her mouth. “You should’ve just said yes,” he murmurs in her ear. He turns around and drags her out of the building, even though she struggles to break free from his arms. “Or you could’ve just left your husband.”

 

Maddy bites his hand, and he swears. “Let me go!” she screams, hoping that she’ll cause enough of a disturbance that one of the professors will contact the police. “Someone, help me!”

 

Clint twists Maddy in his arms and wraps his hand around her throat. “Shut  _ up!” _ he hisses at her, shoving her into a pillar. Her head hits the pillar hard, and she sways, a bit dizzy. “You shut the fuck up!”

 

Maddy pulls his hand away from her throat. “Get  _ away _ from me!”

 

Clint glances behind him, desperation creeping into his eyes. The door to one of the classrooms opens, and Professor Allen steps out to see what all the commotion is. Even across the foyer, Maddy can see the way his eyes grow wide, and he turns his head enough to shout for one of his students to call the police while still being able to see Maddy and Clint.

 

Clint swears, braces himself, and pulls Maddy forward before he slams her back into the pillar.

 

Maddy’s head crashes against the stone, and she pitches forward into Clint’s arms.

 

**

 

Henry stares expectantly at the owner of the comic book store. The owner reported theft of nearly $1500 worth of stolen comics, and Henry had examined the alleged crime scene and found absolutely nothing. No signs of forced entry, no fingerprints, no hair, nada. There is no criminal.

 

“Listen, Barry, we know that your store was going under. This theft gets you insurance coverage, you’re paid, everything’s all hunky-dory. There are a hundred more interesting cases that I could be working right now, so if you’d  _ please _ just confess, I can go arrest a drug dealer and then go home to my wife.”

 

Barry glances around shiftily. “What happens if I confess?”

 

Henry shrugs. “I mean, it’s insurance fraud that you’d be punished for. It’s technically only a misdemeanor, so you’ll probably just pay a fine. Worst case scenario, you get jail time for five years in a nice, cushy jail.”

 

Barry purses his lips. “How do you know I did it?”

 

Henry blinks. “You’re a terrible criminal.”

 

Barry sighs and hangs his head. “Alright, fine, I did it.”

 

Henry gestures to Barry and looks at the one-way glass.  _ “Thank _ you. Can I go now, Herb?”

 

Herb’s voice comes into the interrogation room. “Alright, Henry, you served your purpose. Jack, get in there.”

 

Henry leaves the interrogation room just as Jack comes in, and Henry jogs up to Herb. “So, are there any interesting cases I can take on?”

 

Herb shoots Henry a disbelieving glance and hurries up the stairs. “Henry, you’re not a detective yet.  _ They _ get the fun cases.”

 

“Oh, come on! I’ve had to deal with insurance fraud and other petty crime for the past week! Let me get some action!”

 

Herb sighs, about to send Henry off to his desk, when Jerry calls for the chief.

 

“Chief! We just got a call about a 207 at UCSB.”

 

Herb glances at Henry, whose face is full of glee, and gestures for Henry to follow him to Jerry’s desk. “Victim?”

 

Jerry glances at Henry and winces. “Uh, Chief?”

 

“How the hell are we supposed to catch the perp if we don’t even know who he kidnapped?”

 

Jerry sighs and shakes his head. “Um…the victim was a college student, female, blonde hair.” He glances at Henry again and looks at the chief. “Listen, Herb, I don’t think it’s such a good idea that Henry’s here for this.”

 

Henry furrows his brow. “Why not, Jerry?”

 

Herb connects the dots a lot quicker than Henry does, and he moves to stand between Jerry and Henry. “Henry, I think you should assist Boone and Peters on their drug ring case.”

 

“Why? I’m right here for the kidnapping case. I can go out.” He looks between Jerry and Herb and laughs. “Do you guys  _ actually _ think I’ll automatically assume that every female blonde college student is Maddy? Don’t be an idiot.”

 

Jerry gulps and looks at Henry around Herb’s body. “Listen, Henry, we  _ don’t _ think you think like that, but…this time, it  _ is _ Madeleine. One of her professors saw her get taken.”

 

The smile falls from Henry’s face, and all the blood drains from his body. “What?” he whispers. He glances at Herb and swallows heavily. “Mad– Maddy’s been kidnapped?”

 

Herb looks at Henry apologetically and pats his shoulder. “I’m sorry, son.”

 

Henry takes a step backwards and presses his hands into his eyes. “This  _ cannot _ be happening.” He paces the bullpen for a second, sniffs, removes his hands from his eyes, and looks hard at Jerry. “Did they get a good look at the kidnapper?”

 

Jerry glances at Herb. “Uh, yeah, but, Henry –”

 

Henry clenches his jaw. “What did he look like?”

 

Herb grips Henry’s shoulders in both hands and tries to steer him away from Jerry’s desk. “No, Henry, you can’t be a part of this case.”

 

Henry shrugs Herb’s hands off of him. “The hell I can’t! That’s my wife!”

 

“And there’s a conflict of interest! You’re emotionally compromised, Henry!”

 

Henry laughs humorlessly and shakes his head. “Why do you say that? Because this bastard  _ took my wife _ in a place where she  _ should _ be safe? Hell, yes, I’m emotionally compromised!”

 

“Which is why you can’t work  _ this _ case!”

 

Henry stares into Herb’s eyes. Though fire spits from his eyes, the rest of his body feels ice cold. “If I don’t work this case as a cop,” Henry says calmly, lowly, “then I’ll work it as a civilian.”

 

“Henry –”

 

Henry’s voice leaves no room for an argument. “I either work this case as a civilian with police training  _ while _ emotionally compromised and on my own, with no one to keep me in line, or I work this case as a police officer with Jerry, who can at least keep me in line if need be.”

 

Herb sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “This is against protocol, Henry.”

 

Henry searches Herb’s eyes. “Please,” he whispers. “I need to find my wife.”

 

**

 

Maddy blinks groggily. The room in front of her swims, and she focuses on one spot while her brain tries to make everything stop spinning. Her head throbs, and she can feel dried blood on the side of her face. Her shoulders feel tight and uncomfortable, and she realizes that her hands are tied behind a steel chair.

 

She lolls her head and glares blearily at Clint. “Did you have to aim for every cliché in the book?” she says hoarsely.

 

Clint raises his eyebrow and turns on the television. “I wasn’t going to kidnap you in the first place. You should have just said yes.”

 

“I’m  _ married.” _

 

Clint shrugs. “You don’t have to be faithful.”

 

Maddy narrows her eyes at him. “What are you  _ on? _ I vowed that I would be faithful to him, and what’s more, I  _ want _ to be faithful to him.”

 

Clint turns up the volume, and the sound hurts Maddy’s head. She groans. Clint turns the volume back down. “You know I’ve always loved you.”

 

“Your definition of love is extremely warped. Remember that time you hit me because I wouldn’t sleep with you? How you stalked me for months? How you screamed at me and broke my fucking arm when I told you I was never going to see you again? That doesn’t sound like love.” She hangs her head, and she can feel some of the blood drain from her brain. It feels better now.

 

“You know I have problems.”

 

“Doesn’t excuse your shit behavior.” Maddy closes her eyes, the sunlight far too bright for her to deal with. A thought crosses her mind, and her eyes snap open. “Did you– did you rape me?”

 

Clint raises his eyebrows and shakes his head. “Nope. It’s not as fun if you’re unconscious.”

 

Maddy stares at him and shakes her head slowly. “You’re sick.”

 

Clint walks away from the television and kneels in front of Maddy, brushing her cheek with his fingers. “Please, Madeleine, just one time.”

 

“No!” Maddy winces at the volume of her own voice. “I don’t want you! Just let me go!”

 

Clint stands and walks over to his kitchen, where he’s still in Maddy’s line of sight. He pulls open a drawer, and Maddy’s terrified for whatever’s coming.

 

Maddy sighs and hangs her head again. “Listen, Clint, I’m pregnant.”

 

Clint looks up and surveys her. “I don’t believe you. You’re not showing.”

 

Maddy rolls her eyes. “Yeah, dumbass, because I’ve only been pregnant for a few weeks. I’m not going to show for a while now.” She licks her lips. “Look, I know you don’t respect my marriage, but my husband and I have been trying to have kids for a while now.”

 

“Well, congratulations,” Clint says dryly. “That’s not gonna stop me.”

 

“Look, Clint, this is my third time being pregnant. I’ve had a miscarriage both times before.” She presses her lips together. “Please, I don’t want to lose this baby, too.”

 

Clint squints at her. “You’re not just saying that?”

 

“The pregnancy test is in my purse. I was just about to go and tell Henry.”

 

Clint rolls his eyes and slams the drawer shut. “Fine. I won’t have sex with you, but I  _ will _ keep you here.”

 

Maddy breathes out a small sigh of relief and furrows her brow. “That– that doesn’t make sense. Why would you keep me here?” She lifts her chin in defiance, watching as Clint comes closer. “Again, my husband is a cop. He’ll find me, and he’ll stop at nothing to protect me.”

 

Clint grins, and Maddy is immediately unsettled by the greed and– and  _ evil _ in his smile. “Oh, I’m counting on it,” he whispers sinisterly. “And I also know that he’s emotionally compromised. If he finds out you’re pregnant, he’ll be even  _ more _ protective. And when he sees me, he’ll want to hurt me with his bare hands.” He laughs, but the humor it carries is cold and calculated. “He might even try to  _ kill _ me. He’ll give up his freedom for that glorious moment of revenge.”

 

Maddy’s breathing speeds up and she searches Clint’s gray eyes. “What the hell are you saying?”

 

“I’m saying,” Clint murmurs, tracing his index finger down Maddy’s jaw, “that your husband will take advantage of his position and commit police brutality. You know how long they lock away a cop who does that?”

 

Maddy’s eyes grow wide. “No,” she whispers in shock. “No, you can’t– don’t do this.”

 

Clint laughs. “Why not? If I can’t have you, no one should.”

 

“That is literally the worst logic I’ve ever heard, and I’m in a poli sci class with freshmen.”

 

Clint kisses the hollow of Maddy’s throat, and she tenses against the touch. “Well,” Clint drawls, standing up, “I’m not a very logical person.”

 

When he turns around, Maddy’s shoulders sag, and she prays to God that Henry is not the officer who finds her.

 

**

 

Henry’s been sitting in the passenger side of Jerry’s cruiser for the better part of an hour, nervously bouncing his leg while trying to complete a crossword puzzle. Jerry told him multiple times that he would call for Henry only if Henry was needed and that Henry would need to wait in the car.

 

He feels like an abandoned puppy out here.

 

The chief knocks on Henry’s window, and Henry gratefully opens the door and steps out of the vehicle. “What is it, Chief?”

 

Herb sighs and jerks his head over to the sketch artist. “We have a description of the perp. We need to see if you can identify him.”

 

Henry furrows his brow and follows after Herb. “Why would I be–”

 

Herb holds up a hand. “Just on the off chance that this was a crazed ex-boyfriend that you might have accidentally run into.”

 

Henry sighs and makes his way over to the sketch artist. The artist glances at Herb and shows Henry the sketch. Henry tilts his head and studies the picture.

 

“Hey,” Henry says, realization dawning on him. He points to the picture. “I recognize this guy.”

 

Jerry and Herb both perk up and flank Henry’s sides. “You do?” Jerry asks.

 

Henry nods his head. “Yeah. I ran into him while visiting Mad’s family in Cincinnati, and this guy was just…awful. Apparently, he was this really abusive ex.”

 

Herb pats Henry’s shoulder. “That’s good, son. Do you remember his name?”

 

Henry closes his eyes and thinks hard. “Uh…his first name is Clint. I remember that.”

 

“Well, that’s helpful,” Jerry murmurs. Herb nudges him.

 

“Think, son. Do you remember his last name?”

 

“Can’t be Eastwood,” Jerry says, receiving yet another nudge.

 

Henry licks his lips. “I…I think it was…no, it was–” His eyes snap open, and he looks to Herb. “Clint Everdale. I remember now because I ran a background check on him. Maddy’s dad filed a restraining order against him when she was fifteen. He was involved with a lot of crime after that, including drugs.”

 

Herb pats Henry’s shoulder and calls for all units to search for a residence belonging to a Clint Everdale. Within ten minutes, they have an address.

 

Henry runs to the cruiser, anxiously waits for Jerry, and flips the sirens on. No one’s going to keep him from his wife.

 

**

 

Maddy jiggles her leg up and down. “I need to pee.”

 

Clint looks over his shoulder. His arm is slung across the back of the couch, and he holds a Playboy magazine in his other hand. “Again? You just went, like, ten minutes ago.”

 

Maddy rolls her eyes. “That’s what being pregnant does to you. Listen, I seriously have to pee.”

 

Clint grins greedily. “Can I watch?”

 

“Only if I go in my pants.” She smiles sweetly at him.

 

Clint rolls his eyes. “Scale of 1 to 10, how bad do you need to go?”

 

“Eight,” she answers immediately. “I can wait another couple of minutes, and then I’m gonna burst. Remember: I’ve done this before. I remember how my bladder functions.”

 

Clint sighs heavily. “Fine. You know where the bathroom is. I’m gonna look at those hot chicks some more.” He gets up and reaches to untie her. “Y’know, I’m doing you a favor.”

 

Maddy rolls her eyes. “Yeah, I would hope so, since you kidnapped me.”

 

“You could’ve just told me you were pregnant in the first place, and this could have been avoided.”

 

“I haven’t even told my  _ husband _ – aka the  _ father of my child _ – yet!”

 

Clint curses and finally gets Maddy’s hands untied. “Just go.”

 

“Can I leave?”

 

“No! Just pee!”

 

Maddy rolls her eyes and mockingly salutes him, hurrying towards the bathroom as fast as she can. When she’s in there, she locks the door behind her and presses her back to it.

 

She needs to find a way to escape.

 

**

 

The sun has started to set in Santa Barbara, California when the squad pulls up to Clint Everdale’s house. Jerry pretended to get lost, at the chief’s request. Henry shouted obscenities at him. Finally, Jerry couldn’t tolerate Henry’s purple face any longer and booked it to the suspect’s house, orders be damned.

 

They’re easily the last unit to arrive, and Jerry isn’t quick enough to lock the doors before Henry throws open the door and storms out of the cruiser. His eyes are on fire as he stalks towards the house. He’ll go in there. He’ll find Clint, and he’ll arrest the son of a bitch.

 

However, his eyes catch sight of Jack and Lou leading Clint out of the house. Clint’s hands are handcuffed, and he spots Henry and grins. There’s something about the way he smiles that sets Henry off – maybe it’s the way it seemingly brags about a conquest, the greediness in it, or the blindingly white teeth – but Henry starts moving forward, his eyes on Clint and Clint alone.

 

_ If that sick bastard so much as  _ touched _ my wife’s  _ cheek _ without permission… _

 

His hand forms into a fist, and all noise drains away from him. It’s like he’s in a tunnel, and the only thing at the other end is Clint, and Henry wants to wipe that smile off his face, wants to send his fist flying into Clint’s face again and again and again, until his fist is stained with red and Clint is unrecognizable.

 

He feels some officers trying to hold him back. They grab his arms, but he just shakes them off and storms forward. Someone pulls his gun from his holster, and Henry laughs inwardly. Do they think that he could get even remotely the same satisfaction from shooting the bastard? No, he needs to beat that man within an inch of his life, beat him to a bloody pulp until he learns his lesson. His squad isn’t going to be able to stop him. No one will.

 

“Henry, wait!” Maddy runs in between him and Clint and holds out her arms.

 

Henry stops, his hand uncurling. “Maddy.” He blinks.

 

Maddy takes a step closer to him, holding his face in her hands. “Yes, yes, it’s me. I’m fine.”

 

Henry examines her face and gently touches the dried blood. “He hurt you.”

 

Maddy glances to her right, knowing that she’ll be unable to see the blood. “It’s nothing. Just a minor concussion.”

 

Henry tries to smile at her. “Maddy, move. I need to deal with the bastard myself.”

 

Maddy follows his steps. “No, Henry, he’s not worth it!”

 

Henry’s eyes flash, and he searches Maddy’s eyes. “‘Not worth it?’” he echoes. “Maddy, he hurt you! He took you! And –” he stops himself before he can voice his greatest fear.

 

Maddy shakes her head frantically. “He didn’t! He didn’t rape me! Henry, I promise nothing happened.”

 

Henry nods to the hickey on her neck. “What about that?”

 

Maddy touches the bruise. “He did that,” she admits.

 

“Maddy, just let me at him.”

 

“Henry, he’s not worth your freedom!”

 

“He took the person I love most in the world! Of course he’s worth my freedom!” He tries to move past her again, but, again, she blocks him. “Just one punch! Let me!”

 

Maddy shakes her head and laces her hands behind Henry’s head, pulling him closer to her. She rests her forehead against Henry’s. “Henry, listen, if you hurt him, you’ll be put away for police brutality. I can’t– I can’t do this without you.”

 

She expected him to relax at the touch, but his body is still tense. “Why are you defending him?”

 

“Because if you just let it be right now, he’ll be in prison for a long time, but if you  _ hurt _ him, he gets off on a technicality, and I won’t have you,” she answers. She stands on her tiptoes and kisses Henry’s cheek. “Please, I can’t do this without you,” she whispers.

 

Henry closes his eyes and gently closes his hand around Maddy’s wrist. “He’s worth my freedom. If he did anything to you –”

 

“Henry, he didn’t rape me. I promise. He wouldn’t.”

 

Henry’s eyes snap open, and he backs away from her. “Have you  _ seen _ him? Of course he would!”

 

Maddy grabs his hands, trying to keep him rooted. The other officers are yelling at her, trying to get her to calm him down. “Oh, trust me, he wanted to.”

 

“Then why  _ didn’t _ he? You can tell me the truth, Mad.” He grits his teeth and glares at Clint over her head. “I would love another reason to bash that son of a bitch’s skull in.”

 

Maddy cups his face with her hands again. “Henry,” she whispers, “just trust me, alright? Please? I promise he didn’t.”

 

Henry shakes his head and tries to step away from her. “Just tell me  _ why, _ Maddy. Please.”

 

Maddy sighs and rests her forehead against Henry’s again. “He has never slept with a pregnant woman. He thinks it’s gross.”

 

Henry purses his lips. “You told him you were pregnant?” He nods along slowly. “Good thinking.”

 

Maddy rolls her eyes. How can someone so smart be so dense? She nods. “Yeah, it was good thinking.” She’ll tell him later tonight, when Henry isn’t thinking irrationally. Besides, a technical crime scene is the worst place to break it to him.

 

Henry finally relaxes with her touch. “You– this scared me, Mad.” He kisses her forehead and then rests his forehead against hers again. “I hate worrying about you like this.” He slowly strokes his thumb across Maddy’s hand.

 

Maddy hums. “Yeah, it was no picnic for me, either.” She breathes in shakily. “I love you, Henry.”

 

Henry nods. “I love you, too, Maddy. More than anything.”

 

“More than anything,” she echoes.

 

He smiles softly and cups her cheek with his right hand. He tilts his head slightly and presses his lips to hers in a soft, gentle kiss. Maddy makes a contented sound and kisses him back. Her lips are salty from her tears, and Henry wants to kiss them all away, wants to assure her that this will never happen again. Their kiss is soft and slow, and neither of them want to pull away from it.

 

Henry leans down, slides his hand underneath Maddy’s knees, and picks her up bridal style, walking away from the scene of the crime. Maddy pulls away for a brief second to thank him and kisses him again.

 

**

 

“Henry?” Maddy sits nervously on the bed, twisting and untwisting the belt to her robe.

 

Henry pokes his head out from their bathroom, his toothbrush stuck in his mouth. “Yeah, hon?” he says through toothpaste.

 

“You know how I told you that I told Clint I was pregnant?”

 

Henry furrows his brow, holds up his index finger, and leans back into the bathroom to spit. “Yeah? Why?” He searches her eyes and realization dawns on him. He leaves the bathroom. “Wait, are you saying –” he kneels in front of her and takes both her hands in his. “Are you– are we–”

 

Maddy smiles tearfully and cups Henry’s cheek. “We’re going to have a baby,” she whispers.

 

Henry grins and takes Maddy’s face in his hand, pressing kisses to her forehead, her cheeks, her nose, her lips. “A baby!” He licks his lips and blinks back tears, finally realizing that Maddy isn’t quite as excited as he is. “Honey, what’s wrong?”

 

Maddy presses her lips tightly together and shakes her head. The façade she had maintained throughout the day has now fallen, and she bursts into tears. “What if this is another miscarriage, Henry? What if I’m cursed to be pregnant but never have kids?”

 

Henry’s face falls, and he gathers Madeleine in his arms. She buries her face into his neck and sobs. “Shh,” he soothes, gently rubbing circles on her back. “If –” he closes his eyes and swallows heavily. “If this is another miscarriage, then I’m still going to love this baby as much as I’ve loved the others and as much as I love you, and we’ll meet that baby someday. I pray to God that it won’t be, but if it is, then we’ll get through it together.”

 

“B-but you’re- you’re supposed to- to avoid stress during preg-pregnancy,” she sobs. She clutches Henry’s shirt in both of her fists.

 

“If all stress was bad for the baby, then the human race would have died out long ago, and epileptic moms would never have been able to have children. We’ll get through this, Maddy. I promise.”

 

She wipes her cheek with one hand. “I want to have this baby,” she whispers. “It just feels special. This pregnancy feels different.”

 

Henry presses a kiss to her temple. “That’s good,” he whispers. “Maybe we’ll have better luck this time.”

 

“I don’t want to lose this baby.” Her voice is so quiet that Henry almost doesn’t hear her.

 

He strokes her hair. “I don’t want to, either.” He closes his eyes and whispers a silent prayer to God that Maddy carries this pregnancy to term. He pulls back and searches her eyes. “But for now: we’re going to have a baby!” He laughs and kisses her forehead. “We made a person!”

 

Maddy laughs, too, and wipes her cheek again. “I’m pregnant!” she says.

 

“You’re pregnant!”

 

Maddy throws her arms around him again, but this time in joy and laughter instead of heartbreak and tears.

 

Well, there  _ are _ tears, but they’re more of the joyful variety.

 

**

 

She dreams that night. She dreams of drowning, of Henry kissing her neck only for him to pull away and his face to morph into a criminal’s. She dreams of screaming, of a lost baby.

 

Her eyes snap open, and her heart pounds fervently. Her chest rises and falls rapidly, and she turns on her side and shakes Henry awake.

 

“Hm?” Henry looks to left and sees that Maddy’s awake. “Bad dreams?”

 

Maddy nods.

 

Henry spreads his arm and gestures for Maddy to come closer. She scoots next to him and curls into his side, resting her head on his shoulder. He presses a kiss to her head. “I won’t let anything hurt you,” he whispers. “You know that, right?”

 

Maddy turns the words over again in her mind.  _ I won’t let anything hurt you. _ She nods and gives him a peck on the lips. “Yeah, I know that. My dreams don’t.”

 

Henry pulls her closer and rests his cheek against her hair. “Any bad thing that wants to hurt you is going to have to take me down first.”

 

Maddy smiles softly and gently scratches Henry’s chest with her free hand. “You’d do that for me?”

 

“I would move mountains for you, Maddy.” He laughs to himself. “I almost went to prison for you today. You were the only one who could have stopped me.”

 

Maddy shakes her head. “You shouldn’t have let him get to you. He wanted to get to you.”

 

“Yeah, well…” Henry shrugs with the shoulder that Maddy’s not resting on. “He knew how to do it. I would– I can’t live without you, Mad.”

 

She smiles and tucks her head into the crook of Henry’s neck. “I can’t live without you, either.”

 

“Goodnight, Mad. No more nightmares.”

 

She hums. “Not as long as you’re here to protect me.”

**Author's Note:**

> Like it, love it, hate it? Leave a comment below or go to my tumblr, @ my-glasses-are-dirty, and tell me what you think!  
> (Please. I busted my butt for this.)


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